Tag Archives: Fukushima

The East Coast of the United States was hit by an earthquake Tuesday, centered near Richmond, Virginia and felt as far north as New York City (none of the newspapers mentioned how far south it was felt.  Screw the south.)    It may have damaged a few buildings, knocked a few things off

Earthquake Devastation in Washington, D.C.

shelves, but nobody was hurt or killed or anything.  It was a 5.9 on the Richter scale, tops.

Fukushima was a 9.  The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 was an 8.5.  The Northridge Quake of 1994 was only a 6.7, but I thought it was a lot more.  I felt that one.  I was asleep, it happened in the early morning.  I got up and stood under a doorway, which they say is the safest place, waited a few seconds and went back to bed.  Didn’t seem like a biggie.

Then I called up my brother, who was visiting in town and staying with my other brother.  We were planning to all meet for breakfast.

“Hey”

“Hey”

“Did you feel that quake last night?”

“Yeah , I went back to bed”

(long pause)

“WHAT?”

Where they were, it was a much bigger deal.  It had thrown them out of bed and knocked over cupboards and such.  It was all over the news, which he insisted I turn on immediately.  57 dead.  Massive damage.  But to me, just a bit south, it was a slight roll.

So, I guess you could say that proximity to the epicenter factors in, too.  I can understand folks in Virginia, for a few miles around the quake zone, freaking out.  When the earth moves under your feet, that’s an awe inspiring prepare to meet your maker moment.  But you folks in New York can stop whining.  You got a little tickle.